Altered Reality
by Dlbn
Summary: When Ritsuka awakens on his birthday, everything is strange. Seimei's home? Spells aren't real? The past two years were just a dream? And now he's being haunted by a ghostly apparition and forced to relive his birthday over and over again? What is real? What is illusion? Ritsuka's sanity is on the line...


Dlbn: Hey, everyone! This is a little something I've had cooking since I saw Happy Death Day Too You in theatres last year. It was going to be posted throughout October, but I haven't had time, so I guess better is late than never! That being noted, there are some very questionable themes in here based out of fan theories and pairings I'm not overly a fan of, but that work for this.

Nbld: So buckle in and enjoy the ride!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. Everyone/everything canon to Loveless belongs to Yun Kouga. I make NO money off writing this

Dedication: Happy Halloween, everyone!

Dedication 2: To my brother in law and sister for starting their transitions and hormone therapies so they can finally be who they really are. Love you both. Happy slightly belated birthdays!

000

Ritsuka startled himself awake for reasons he didn't know. Something just didn't feel right in his chest as he sat up, looking around the room. The room was his, that was for certain. Nothing out of the ordinary stuck out at him as being a cause for his alarm. He shook off the feeling and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as a knock came on his door.

"Y-Yes…?" He greeted, waiting on his mother to burst in.

The door opened slowly and Seimei's head poked in. "Ah, you're awake. Not my fault, was it?" He wondered.

"Seimei…?" Ritsuka's eyebrows shot into his hair.

There was no way. Seimei was in Gora with Soubi and Akame. There was no way he was here, in their home. And yet the man before him wasn't an apparition from what he could tell.

"Hai? Who else would it be?" Seimei laughed, pushing open the door and bringing in a TV tray of food. "Its breakfast in bed!"

"Huh…? I…what…?"

"Did you forget?" Seimei's lips pinched into a frown. "Its your birthday. I always bring you breakfast in bed for your birthday."

Ritsuka shook his head to clear it of the cloudiness of sleep. "But…but you're in Gora…"

"What?" Seimei wondered, laughing a little. "Did you have a bad dream? I'm right here, I'm not in Gora. What business would I have in Gora anyway? Nothing out there but wilderness and a town no one cares about." He sat the tray over Ritsuka. "Don't confuse dreams for the real world."

"Dream…? It was all a dream…? But…it was wo years…I…"

Seimei sat on the edge of his bed and checked for a temperature with the back of his hand. "You don't feel warm. It was just a bad dream, Ritsuka."

"So…there's no such thing as Word Spell…? And what about the Academy…?"

Seimei cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever you were dreaming of, it sounds elaborate, but I can't imagine its real. Spells? Please, magic isn't real." He ruffled Ritsuka's hair. "When you're done with breakfast, come downstairs for your present. You've got school in a few hours."

"Yeah…a dream…but it felt so real!"

"Sometimes dreams do." Seimei chuckled, standing and patting his brother on the head between the ears. "If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you. Eat before it gets cold!"

He left the room with a smile and a wave. Ritsuka felt sick to his stomach. But the dream felt so real. Spells and Units, Seven Voices Academy and…that guy…the blonde…who…? The vision was fuzzy in his mind. A pale face framed by long blonde hair, striking cobalt eyes framed by wire glasses…but the name…there was no name. Who was he? No one important, clearly, only important to the dream world. Ritsuka shook his head and started to eat the delicious food Seimei had prepared for him. Okay, so it was just a dream. There was no such thing as magic, Seimei wasn't a psychotic murderer mastermind. He was just his dear older brother. There was nothing to be worried about. It was his birthday and he had school later in the day. That was it. Oh, but what a dream it was…

000

Ritsuka made his way downstairs, carrying the TV tray and plate and glass that were sitting on it down to the kitchen. Seimei was there, hiding something behind his back. A small cake sat on the table and balloons sat in one corner, held down by a heavy weight. A Happy Birthday banner hung from the cabinets over the sink. Had those cabinets always been there? No, that was the dream world house that didn't have them, that had to be it.

"Happy birthday, Ritsuka." Seimei greeted with a grin. "I hope you like your present." He pulled a small box out from behind his back.

"Thank you, Seimei." Ritsuka responded with a smile.

He sat the tray down on the floor and put the cup and plate into the sink. Seimei held the gift out to him.

"Well, go ahead. Open it!"

"You're in such a hurry, Seimei." Ritsuka scolded, taking the present with a smile. "Thank you…you always make my birthday special."

"I try." Seimei flushed, shrugging one shoulder.

Ritsuka opened the present to find it was a Nintendo Switch system. "Woah, no way! Seimei, these are expensive! You shouldn't spend so much money on me like this!"

"Ah, it wasn't just from me." Seimei rubbed the back of his neck. "Nisei helped pay for half of it."

"Oh, that was nice of him!"

Why did that name make his blood boil? Probably from the dream. Nisei was a villain, wasn't he? No, he couldn't be. He was just Seimei's friend. He was a little creepy, but a descent guy.

Seimei smiled gently. "I'll spend the rest of my life repaying the jerk." He laughed, stepping closer to Ritsuka. "I got you some games for it. They're in the living room."

"You didn't have to go through all this! Not for my birthday…"

"Ritsuka, if it wasn't for your birthday, I wouldn't have you. It's a very special day to me. Why not go all out for my special little brother?"

"I don't know, I just…mph!"

He was cut off by a set of warm, gentle lips pressed against his, a hand on the back of his neck. He pushed Seimei away.

"What are you doing?" He wondered, ears going flat.

"What…?" Seimei blinked. "We always…have you forgotten…?"

"Forgotten what?" Ritsuka asked. "We're brothers…you shouldn't…wait…" Something flashed through his mind.

Sharing a bed with his brother, curling up in one another's arms. Sweet kisses and prodding tongues. No, he and Seimei were brothers…but they were…

He felt his ears to make sure they were real. There was no way his brother was his lover…but it felt like it was the truth when he thought it.

"Ah, I'm sorry…I guess that dream really messed me up…"

"It's alright." Seimei chuckled in relief. "I…thought you'd forgotten…"

"Of course not. How could I ever forget that?" Ritsuka smiled, standing on his toes to press his lips to Seimei's bottom one. "I'm sorry, Seimei."

"No sweat." Seimei leaned to his human ear. "Your real present is for tonight." He winked.

"Seimei…!"

The elder brother chuckled as the doorbell rang. "Ah, I'll get it."

Ritsuka was left staring at the cake. Seimei was his elder brother. They were in a relationship. Real present…did he mean…?

"Hey, Ritsuka." Nisei greeted, entering the kitchen and tossing his messenger bag against the wall. "Happy birthday."

"Oh, thank you!" Ritsuka snapped from his staring. "And thank you for the present…I really appreciate it."

Nisei flushed. "Yeah, well…hm…you're welcome." He tugged at his collar. "If I can't help my boyfriend with his brother's birthday, what kind of boyfriend am I?"

Ritsuka blinked. "A lousy one…?"

Nisei laughed, obviously uncomfortable as Seimei returned.

"Good to see you two getting along as usual." He informed, leaning down to kiss Nisei on the cheek and making the gamer flush.

"S-Stop." He ordered, rubbing his cheek. "Not in front of…"

"It's fine." Ritsuka laughed. "Don't be so weird, Nisei."

"You know that's easier said than done." Nisei complained, making Ritsuka giggle.

Wait, did Nisei know about him and Seimei? No, he couldn't. Their relationship was a secret. If Nisei knew, he wouldn't be with Seimei. It was then that Ritsuka realized Seimei's ears and tail were gone. Okay, so they were intimate at the least. That made some kind of sense. Even in his dream, Nisei wanted to be with the elder Aoyagi.

"We'll do cake after dinner tonight." Seimei informed his brother. "You're going to be late if you don't leave in a minute."

"Oh, I almost forgot about school." Ritsuka gently set the present down on the table. "Thank you both, so much." He hugged them both, Seimei first.

Nisei's hands went up as if he was unsure about what to do, but he gently pat Ritsuka on the back with one of them. "You're welcome…"

Ritsuka let him go and slipped out of the room.

"You act like he's going to break if you touch him." Seimei informed Nisei. "Did you have a weird dream, too?"

"What are you talking about?" Nisei cocked an eyebrow. "Is Ritsuka having nightmares again?"

"I'm not certain. All I know is I was apparently in Gora for some reason."

"That's stupid."

"I know."

Ritsuka ignored them as their conversation shifted to a date they had planned later in the week. He slipped on his shoes and grabbed his bag. Yoji and Natsuo were waiting for him at the end of the driveway.

"About time!" Yoji complained. "I was about to text you."

"Sorry." Ritsuka responded. "I was talking with Nisei and Seimei."

"Eh, I guess I'll cut you a break since its your _birthday_ or something." Yoji handed him a card. "From us…"

"Thank you." Ritsuka shoved it into his bag as the trio started walking for school. "I had a weird dream last night…it felt so real. I woke up and it was like I didn't know anything anymore."

"That's odd." Natsuo tapped his chin with his pen. "I've heard of deep dreams where you think you're actually living the life in them."

"I lived two years in it. Its weird isn't it?"

"You're weird, get used to it." Yoji teased, shoving him a little.

"Hey!"

The three laughed.

"Hey, Ritsuka-kun!" Yuiko greeted at the end of the corner at a bus stop, pigtails bouncing as she jumped and waved. "Happy birthday, good morning!"

"Thanks, Yuiko!" Ritsuka waved happily at her as the trio joined.

"What, no greeting for us?" Yoji asked. "Rude!"

"I know you don't care." Yuiko told him. "Stop being silly." She handed Ritsuka a card. "From mommy and me!"

"Thank you." He slipped it into his backpack as Yayoi handed him one, as well. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Yayoi nodded.

"You're not starting the party without me, are you?" Osamu called, running up and stopping on a dime.

Osamu? But she went to school in Kyoto. They were clearly in Tokyo. Why was she…? Wait, the dream-world had her living in Kyoto still. This was the real world. She probably moved to Kyoto, too.

"Of course not." Yayoi gave a small grin and took her hand.

She giggled, handing Ritsuka a card. "Enjoy! Don't get it folded up, either. It cost quite a bit of Yen!"

"Haha, I won't, I won't." Ritsuka promised.

The city bus pulled up and the group got on, flashing their student IDs to get on for free. Ritsuka tuned them out as the bus pulled away. Okay, so recap. The real world consisted of himself and his brother, who was secretly his lover, but was obviously sleeping with Nisei. Osamu went to school with him, not in Kyoto like she did in the dream world. Everyone was there. Everyone except…the blonde's face temporarily flashed through his mind. Who was he? Why couldn't he remember? He was obviously just someone that belonged in his dream world, not the waking world. And his mother…where was his mother?

"Hey, guys?" Ritsuka asked.

The others fell silent. "What is it?" Osamu wondered.

"My…um…my mother…she wasn't home this morning…"

"Um…are you feeling okay…?" Osamu pressed the back of her hand to his head. "You live with Seimei…just you two…"

"But…" Ritsuka paused.

"Let me guess, your mother was alive in that dream, right?" Yoji asked.

"Alive? What? Yeah, of course she's alive. Why wouldn't she be…?"

The others shared a look.

"The fire…?" Yuiko asked gently. "Your…your house caught on fire…they could only save one of you…"

"What?" Ritsuka blinked in confusion. "But…mother…"

Was the one killed in fire, dumbass! Seimei was clearly alive. He couldn't have been dead. Well, in the dream world, he'd been the one to set the fire. Was he still…? Did their mother find out about them? Or was that something that happened only after Ritsuka moved in with his brother?

"Are you sure you're okay…?"

"That…dream….must be messing with my perception of reality." Ritsuka replied.

"Perception of reality? Big words for a C-student." Yoji teased, nudging him.

C-student? No, he was a straight-A student…no, that was in the dream world. Here he was popular and had friends, and got crappy grades. Clearly Seimei wasn't bothered by it…right…? The topic shifted to some math test they'd taken the day before that Ritsuka didn't remember as the bus neared the school. Something just wasn't right. Sure, it had all been a very vivid dream he just hadn't been able to wake up from. And it was so realistic that it mixed with his current reality and made everything feel off. He needed to clear his head and get his facts straight before he made a bigger fool of himself then he already had.


End file.
